Luminance Launches with Backing of Invoke Capital

LONDON, September 14, 2016

Invoke Capital, the technology investment fund dedicated to unlocking the potential of European technology, today announces its investment in Luminance, which harnesses advances in machine learning to transform the legal due diligence process.

Luminance has been collaborating closely for several months with Slaughter and May, the international law firm, in testing and piloting the software. Slaughter and May’s valuable input has come from its extensive deal-making experience and deep understanding of the role of legal due diligence in a successful transaction process.

Luminance is founded by a combination of lawyers, experts in M&A and mathematicians. Its technology is based on research and development at the University of Cambridge, and is anchored in Recursive Bayesian Estimation theory. Luminance harnesses the power of Artificial Intelligence to automatically read and understand hundreds of pages of detailed and complex legal documentation every minute. This offers companies the ability to carry out essential due diligence work with much greater speed.

Luminance CEO, Emily Foges, said: “Luminance has been trained to think like a lawyer. With Slaughter and May’s help, we are designing the system to understand how lawyers think, and to draw out key findings without the need to be told what to look for. This will transform document analysis and enhance the entire transaction process for law firms and their clients. Highly-trained lawyers who would otherwise be scanning through thousands of pages of repetitive documents can spend more of their time analysing the findings and negotiating the terms of the deal.”

Steve Cooke, Senior Partner of Slaughter and May, said: “The legal due diligence process is ripe for the revolution that Artificial Intelligence offers. It is clear to us that the brains and technical capabilities of the Luminance team, backed by Mike Lynch and his Invoke Capital fund, are a winning combination in this area and one with which we are delighted to be collaborating. We are constantly on the lookout for innovative ways to optimise our offering for the benefit of our clients. Luminance is an exciting development in this key area of legal process innovation.”

Mike Lynch, Founder of Invoke Capital, said: “It is not an understatement to say that this is an application of Artificial Intelligence that will completely transform the due diligence process, which is perhaps long overdue. Like our investments in Darktrace and Sophia Genetics, there is a technological advantage in this particular product that outstrips its rivals. AI has been famous for winning complex strategy games and this now puts it in the workplace, and in boardrooms, where its impact will be felt. Invoke is delighted to be backing Luminance and we are particularly pleased that it is collaborating with Slaughter and May – a law firm which leads the way when it comes to innovation and quality of service.”

About Luminance

Luminance is a revolutionary technology founded on breakthroughs in artificial intelligence at the University of Cambridge, and trained by legal experts. The company is backed by Invoke Capital, an investment fund dedicated to unlocking the potential of European technology. Luminance is a new class of document analytics software that will transform our approach to handling big data. Luminance allows the computing power of artificial intelligence to complement the sophisticated human mind. By understanding language as humans do, recognising patterns and uncovering hidden risks, Luminance provides both a global overview and a forensic insight into a company. Luminance adds value to a legal team, freeing lawyers to focus on what matters.

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